three years later in 1962 he was elected to the u.s. senate where he would serve for five decades, the second longest tenure in this chambers history. i am honored to have served with him throughout my entire senate service. while he and i often found oufferses on different sides on issues, i always knew him to be a man of principle and deenssi. one of the few times we found ourselves on the same side came when the late senator ted stevens asked us for help when his character was called into question. now politically speaking participating in senator stevens trial held no benefit for senator inouye. it would have been easy for senator inouye to deny his friends question and few would have blamed him for it. but that's not how he operated. rather than letting a friend fend for himself he showed great loyalty in his willing tons testify to his friend's good character, to put his own reputation on the line in service of a friend. and i had a similar privilege. once against, mr. president. both senator inouye and i were mist fide by what ha